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Who won the 1984 EURO?

France became the only host nation to date to win the expanded UEFA European Championship when they beat Spain 2-0 in the final at Paris's Parc des Princes on 27 June 1984. Michel Platini broke the deadlock with his ninth goal of the finals – a record that still stands – his free-kick fumbled into the net by Spain goalkeeper Luis Arconada. France's Yvon Le Roux was sent off late on, but it was the hosts who scored again, Bruno Bellone making his mark. Platini remembered: "It was the first official trophy won by France in a team sport, so it was a great moment for French football and for French sport as a whole."

Who were the top scorers at the 1984 EURO?

Michel Platini scored nine goals at the 1984 EURO, which remains a competition record (no other player has scored more than six). The only foreign-based player in the squad, the Juventus attacking midfielder bagged Les Bleus' winner against Denmark in their opening game, then got perfect hat-tricks in back-to-back victories against Belgium and Yugoslavia. He also scored in the semi-final defeat of Portugal and the final win against Spain.

Bayern München's Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had been the top scorer in qualifying with seven goals for West Germany, though his side were lucky to make it to the finals, finishing level on 11 points with Northern Ireland (who beat them twice in Group 6) and only confirming their place with a last-day victory over Albania, Gerd Strack hitting the winner in the 79th minute.

Where was the 1984 EURO held?

Highlights: Watch Platini’s nine goals at EURO 1984

The first eight-team final tournament was staged in seven venues. Paris's Parc des Princes was the venue for the opening match and the final, with other games being played at Marseille's Stade Vélodrome, Lyon's Stade de Gerland, Saint-Etienne's Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Lens' Stade Félix-Bollaert and two newly-built arenas: Nantes' Stade de la Beaujoire and Strasbourg's Stade de la Meinau.

Who managed the winning team at the 1984 EURO?

Michel Hidalgo was France coach from 1976 to 1984. A player in the Reims team that lost to Real Madrid in the inaugural European Cup final in 1956, he steered France to the semi-finals of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, where they fell to West Germany on penalties. "Under him, we played some wonderful football," recalled Michel Platini. "He created a midfield with four creative players who could hit a pass at any time. One of the great merits of Michel Hidalgo was finding a way to fit several No10s into midfield."

Who was the winning captain at the 1984 EURO?

Michel Platini was France's captain as well as their devastating goalscorer-in-chief at the 1984 EURO (he claimed nine of their 14 finals goals). An outrageously gifted midfielder, he won the Italian title and the European Cup Winners' Cup with Juventus in 1984 before returning home for the EURO. His example inspired later greats, with Zinédine Zidane admitting: "When I was a kid and played with my friends, I always chose to be Platini."

What was the format for the 1984 EURO?

Staged from 12–27 June, the 1984 EURO was the seventh edition of the competition and the second to feature a group stage, with eight teams involved in two four-team groups (before 1980, final tournaments had comprised two semi-finals, a third-place play-off, then the decider). The group winners (France and Spain) faced the runners-up from the other groups in the semis (Portugal and Denmark). For the first time, there was no third-place play-off.

How many teams featured in the 1984 EURO?

Highlights: The best goals of EURO 1984

Eight teams competed at the finals, while 32 countries participated in qualifying; France qualified for the finals automatically as hosts.

How did 1984 EURO qualifying work?

As with the previous four editions, the 1984 competition began with a qualifying group stage, the 32 teams divided into four groups of five teams and three of four teams. Sides faced their group opponents home and away, with the top team in each section (two points for a win, one for a draw) going through to the finals. The competition was fierce: Belgium were the only side to win their pool by more than a single point.

West Germany's Harald Schumacher featured in the team of the tournamentIcon Sport via Getty Images

Who scored the first goal at the 1984 EURO?

Michel Platini scored the first goal of the final tournament, 78 minutes into France's opening game against Denmark. The 28-year-old had been shackled by Klaus Berggreen for much of the game, but found sufficient space to fire a shot – via the slightest of deflections off a Danish defender's head – past Ole Qvist.

Romania's Florea Văetuş had scored the first goal of the qualifying competition. His team's match against Cyprus on 1 May 1982 heralded the road to France, and the Dinamo Bucureşti striker broke the deadlock in the 16th minute of a 3-1 win in Hunedoara. He remembered: "It was a moment of great joy, perhaps the best of my career, because I scored in my home town on my debut for the national team."

Five top facts about the 1984 EURO

• France remain the only hosts to win the tournament since the expansion of the finals in 1980. Five have reached the semis, while Portugal finished runners-up in 2004.

• France were in awesome form in the year of their EURO win: they played in 12 international fixtures during that calendar year and won every one of them.

• Fear of a shoot-out helped France overturn a 2-1 deficit against Portugal in semi-final extra time. Michel Platini remembered: "Jean Tigana told us he had never won a penalty shoot-out! We knew we had to avoid going to penalties!"

• Finalists Spain set a record in qualifying, becoming the first team to register double figures in a EURO qualifier; they beat Malta 12-1 and pipped the Netherlands to a 1984 finals place on goals scored.

• Péno was the official mascot for the final tournament; the cartoon cockerel wore a France kit with the number 84 on it.

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